Oprah tells Class of 2020 to create more just world
Hugging friends? Nope. Class photos? Afraid not. Instead, in place of the usual pomp and circumstance, Oprah Winfrey on Friday asked America’s graduates — the “pandemic class,” she called them — to consider what their “essential service” in this world will be.
The online commencement ceremony, hosted by Facebook, was one of several last week that replaced stage walks and cap tosses for the nation’s nearly 3.7 million high school seniors and some 3 million college graduates.
Friday, Winfrey challenged graduates to not just rebuild society after the pandemic but to create a more just world as the nation recovers. And as many graduates look warily at the grim job market, she highlighted the service of essential workers and asked graduates to contemplate how they will use their own passions to benefit those around them.
She also made an apparent reference to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man in Georgia whose death in February led to murder charges two weeks ago.
“For every person burdened by bias and bigotry, for every black man and woman living in their American skin, fearful to even go for a jog, inequality is a preexisting condition,” Winfrey said.
Next month, Winfrey also will headline a graduation ceremony for high school seniors in Chicago, where she filmed her toprated talk show for more than two decades.
Miller discusses the next ‘Mad Max’ movie
It has been five years since “Mad Max: Fury Road” came out in theaters, but if director George Miller has his way, Furiosa soon will ride again.
Just don’t expect Charlize Theron to play her.
Miller confirmed rumors that he is moving ahead with a standalone movie about the action film’s heroine, who became a fan favorite thanks to Theron’s determined portrayal. Still, for those hoping to see Theron back in the driver’s seat, people may have to adjust their expectations: The film is a prequel centering on a young Furiosa, and Miller is searching for an actress in her 20s to take over the role.
Miller hopes to make the Furiosa film once he completes the drama “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. That film was supposed to begin shooting this spring, but production was delayed when the coronavirus forced a shutdown.
“So after we finish it, and hopefully everything settles down with the pandemic, we’ll see what the world allows us to do with Furiosa,” Miller said.
Miller said he has begun auditions for the lead role, and he admitted that whoever is cast as Furiosa will have significant shoes to fill. “For the longest time, I thought we could just use CG de-aging on Charlize, but I don’t think we’re nearly there yet,” Miller said.